On what may have been one of the greatest days in regular season Pittsburgh sports (Pitt beat Duke in OT, Penguins beat Bruins in OT), the Steelers kept things going with a convincing win over the St. Louis Rams. After a bit of a first quarter struggle, the Steelers used a fantastic passing game, mixed with a powerful running game to outshoot the Rams. After going down 14-10 early in the game, the Steelers buckeled down to outscore the Rams 31-10 for the rest of the game. Ben Roethlisberger had one of his best games of the season, goign 16/20 for 261 yards, 3 TD's and 0 INT's. Wide Reciever Santonio Holmes snagged 4 catches for 133 yards, including a 83 yard pass reception to start the game. Hines Ward played his usual posession/first-down role in the offense, while Nate Washington had another breakout game with 2 TD's. Also, and somewhat unfortunately, RB Najeh Davenport had a huge game. This came only because of star RB Willie Parker's season ending broken leg injury, which occured on his first carry of the game. Davenport had 123 yards rushing and a touchdown, as well as a solid recieving performance out of the backfield, scoring a touchdown as well. The defense in the first half was suspect at best, but really turned around to shut down the Rams in the second half. But, allowing 24 points to a 3-win team is not acceptable, and will not hold up in the playoffs.
Speaking of the playoffs, thanks to the Browns choke, and the Bengals strong play Sunday, the Steelers have clinched a playoff spot and the AFC North Division Title. This ensures that the Steelers will play a home game in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. At the moment, the possible matchups could be: Tennessee Titans (who need to win vs. Indy to get in), Cleveland Browns (who need a Tennessee loss), or Jacksonville Jaguars (clinched). The most appealing team might be the Titans, who have struggled down the stretch. The least appealing team is the Jaguars, who are the only team to beat the Steelers at home this season, and are playing the best football out of any team right now. If the Steelers want the #3 seed, they will have to win their last game and hope that either the Broncos or the Raiders upset the Chargers. The #3 seed moves on to face the Colts instead of the Patriots in the second round if they can win.
The final matchup of the season for the Steelers is a road trip to Baltimore. If the Steelers win, they move to a perfect 6-0 against the North. This will no doubt be a physical game, as it always is. The Steelers won the first matchup 38-7 on a rainy Monday night in the 'burgh. This time around, that 7 points might not even be plaing, as RB Willis McGahee has broken ribs and is questionable right now. Also, the Ravens will most likely be starting 3rd string rookie QB Troy Smith, who looked extrememly in the blowout loss against the Seahawks Sunday. But, the Ravens have nothing to lose, and that is dangerous. They will be looking to play spoiler for the Steelers, and due to their unruley play at times, might be searching for a cheap shot. So, it is important that the Steelers don't lose any more star players. The Steelers won't win like they did on Monday night, but they still will get the W, and hope that the Chargers lose one.
Prediction: Steelers 28, Ravens 13
